I always cook soup in the pressure cooker, so this recipe includes how to cook it in the pressure cooker or Instant Pot. For dairy-like creamy quality I blended soaked cashews with vegetable broth. Just stir the nutritious protein and magnesium-rich vegan cream into the soup after it’s cooked and pureed smooth.

Ladle hot soup into bowls, add a swirl of white cashew cream, and sprinkle with toasted cashews. For the final touch, top with crunchy pea shoots and chopped black olives. Salad soup–Mmmmmm—good.

Spicy Cashew Spring Greens Soup recipe notes:

Serve with wedges of high-protein, gluten-free chickpea socca—fun for dipping into the soup.

Serrano chiles bring this soup to life. The spiciness is subtle—my husband says undetectable, but his picante heat tolerance is on the high end of the Scoville scale! 😉 If you like intense spicy heat, include the seeds and veins, as Robbie would.

Plastic squirt bottles are handy for decorative designs on soup. Use them to dispense other liquids too, like salad dressing.

#Eat Seasonal:

Be sure to check out Becky’s The Vintage Mixer blog for her list of seasonal fruits and veggies, with links to more than 70 seasonal recipes. For even more inspiration, follow the links below to other food blogs featuring produce from Becky’s February list. We hope our recipes encourage you to get in the kitchen and cook something delicious—and seasonal!

In a large soup pot or pressure cooker over medium flame, heat the olive oil. Saute the leeks until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and serrano chiles, 5 cups of the vegetable broth, the potatoes and the spring greens salad mix. Add the turmeric and salt.

Cover and cook until the potatoes are soft, about 18 minutes. Alternately–using a pressure cooker, lock the lid in place, and cook on high pressure 6 minutes. Lower the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 6 minutes. Quick-release the pressure.

Puree using an immersion blender if you have one. Otherwise, puree in batches in a regular blender and return to the pot.

In a blender, whir the cashews and the remaining 1 ¼ cups of the vegetable broth until smooth, about a minute. Blend in the miso. Set aside ½ cup for garnish and whisk the remaining cashew miso cream (1 ¾ cup) into the soup. Stir in the lime juice and about 10 grinds of black pepper. Taste, adding more salt if you think it needs it. Reheat the soup but do not allow to boil. (see note)

Ladle into bowls. Decorate with swirls of the reserved cashew miso cream, and your choice of toppings.

Recipe Notes

Serrano chiles with seeds and veins removed add mild pleasing spiciness. If you like intense spicy heat, include the seeds and veins.

For crisp crunchy texture to contrast the creamy smooth soup, garnish with pea shoots or sunflower sprouts. Any small green, like cilantro or basil leaves, microgreens, or leaves from the spring mix look pretty too.

Miso is a fermented food with live, active probiotic bacteria—the good stuff--and boiling will kill the probiotics. Besides that, if the soup is fresh off a boil, the cashew cream swirl quickly sinks to the bottom of the bowl.

Thank you Katie! The other plus about this soup is that it uses a lot of greens–say you bought a large container for salads and you haven’t gotten around to using it all–just make salad soup! Reply · 13 February, 2017

Letty, the color of this soup is brilliant, and I just love how you added creamy cashews in here! I’ve always got spring mix in the fridge, so this is going to be perfect for those days when I want something quick and satisfying! Reply · 15 February, 2017

Definitely, your spicy cashew spring greens soup are awesomeness! This is a great recipe Letty, as you know I made it a short while ago and it was lovely, in fact, have made it again since. Thanks for sharing! Reply · 10 July, 2018

Robin, where do you live? I found everything to make this soup at my Kroger store, Smith’s. The turmeric, the chiles, the spring greens mix, the miso, the cashews, the potatoes and the leeks! Reply · 19 September, 2018

Hello and welcome!
I’m Letty.
I create meatless and plant-based recipes with seasonal whole foods, just for you! My wish is to inspire you, to help you cook food that's both healthy and delicious!
More about me...